The Union Public Service Commission or UPSC released the CDS (1) 2026 merit list for the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Indian Naval Academy (INA) recently. The list comprises the names of candidates who were recommended in the SSB interview to become officers in the Indian Armed Forces.
Today, we take a look at the CDS (1) 2026 merit list and the names of the top All India Rank holders, along with some important details to pay attention to.
What is CDS (1) 2026 Merit List?
The CDS merit list is the final result for the Combined Defence Services Examination‘s first cycle of 2026 for candidates who had placed IMA, AFA, or INA as their first preference.
This list comprises the names of all the candidates who were recommended for the above-mentioned course by the respective Services Selection Board, and they will soon be joining one of the following military courses to become officers in the Indian armed forces:
- 162nd (Direct Entry) Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun
- Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala
- Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course, that is, No. 221 F (P) Course
Depending on which service they have been recommended for, the candidates will undergo military training at their service-specific academy.
After successful completion of their training, they will be commissioned in the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy as young officers on permanent commission.
Important Points To Remember
Before we elaborate on the CDS (1) 2026 merit list, as candidates, you should remember the following points and plan your course of action accordingly:
- There are some common candidates in all the three lists for various courses, however, the JL will be issued to candidates based on their service preference.
- Issuance of JL will be governed by factors such as number of vacancies, medical fitness of a candidate, educational qualification, and meeting all the eligibility criteria for the said course.
- All those who have not submitted their original documents and certificates must submit the same in original along with a self-attested xerox to the service headquarters they have been recommended for.
- The medical fitness of candidates is not considered during the preparation of the CDS (1) 2026 merit list.
Now that we have an idea of what you should not be missing out on, let us look at the three lists one-by-one.
CDS (1) 2026 Merit List Top AIR Holders
As per the CDS (1) 2026 merit list, a total of 243 candidates qualified the SSB interview. Here is the breakdown of the number of candidates recommended and the vacancies for each course:
| Military Academy | Recommendations | Vacancies |
| IMA | 155 | 100 |
| INA | 63 | 26 |
| AFA | 25 | 32 |
Let us look at the top 10 AIR holders for each academy, as mentioned in the CDS (1) 2026 merit list.
Indian Military Academy
| All India Rank | Roll Number | Name |
| 1 | 0500513 | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
| 2 | 1402694 | Lakshya Verma |
| 3 | 7900100 | Shubham Parmar |
| 4 | 0805121 | Sumit Kumar |
| 5 | 2604187 | Naman Singh |
| 6 | 1000789 | Ashutosh Kumar |
| 7 | 0805821 | Shivam Bisht |
| 8 | 5901027 | Aayush Raghav |
| 9 | 3500571 | Udit |
| 10 | 6900344 | Himanshu Sharma |
Indian Naval Academy
| All India Rank | Roll Number | Name |
| 1 | 0500513 | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
| 2 | 2604187 | Naman Singh |
| 3 | 5901027 | Aayush Raghav |
| 4 | 3500571 | Udit |
| 5 | 6300481 | Aditya Sharma |
| 6 | 0800212 | Saurav Singh Sigroha |
| 7 | 6300349 | Aryan |
| 8 | 2602234 | Abhay Pratap |
| 9 | 6600832 | Dhruv Khatri |
| 10 | 0809903 | Ansh Sharma |
Air Force Academy
| All India Rank | Roll Number | Name |
| 1 | 0500513 | Lohitaksh Mahajan |
| 2 | 6300481 | Aditya Sharma |
| 3 | 7800330 | Ashwani Pawar |
| 4 | 6300349 | Aryan |
| 5 | 3401258 | Sourav Sharma |
| 6 | 8700026 | Yadav Abhinav Salikram |
| 7 | 0809903 | Ansh Sharma |
| 8 | 1102655 | Shubham Narwal |
| 9 | 0806570 | Aaryan Mishra |
| 10 | 0900270 | Jagat Singh Kalita |
The merit position of these candidates shows the effectiveness of their preparation, not just for the SSB but for the written examination as well. Hence, you must also equally focus on both.
Download CDS (1) 2026 Merit List
While we have shared the names of the top All India Rank holders for each academy, the names of many could not be added here. Hence, you would be curious to know more.
Hence, we have added the attached the official PDF of CDS (1) 2026 merit list for IMA, INA, and AFA. You may click on the link given below to access the final result.
Download PDF of CDS (1) 2026 Final Result
The joining instructions for each academy will be released soon by the concerned authorities. Hence, all qualified candidates must keep a close eye on the same. Best of luck!
